


Parker Luck

by Loki7819



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Bottom Peter Parker, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Flash Thompson Bullies Peter Parker, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mentioned Skip Westcott, Mentions of Rape, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Precious Peter Parker, Rating will change, Tags Are Hard, Tony Stark Cuddles, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Top Tony Stark, just Peter talking about it, no actual rape in this story, soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki7819/pseuds/Loki7819
Summary: Peter starts swinging back to his bag when a text message pops up in front of him. Frowning, he opens it to see it’s from Mr. Stark, only serving to make him more confused than he already was. “Karen, did you contact Mr. Stark?”“No, Peter. You told me not to, so I did not.” Karen says, sounding slightly offended which made Peter chuckle a little.“Alright. Sorry. Just making sure since he just texted me and that’s a bit odd.” Peter stops on the roof and takes his mask off, pulling his phone from his bag to read the text.Mr. Stark: Hey, kid. You’re out of school now, right? I forget what time school gets out. Anyway, why don’t you stop by the lab. I have a surprise for you.Peter: A surprise? You didn’t blow anything up, right? And yes, school got out, like, an hour ago. But, yeah, sure. On my way.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 11
Kudos: 146





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first story in a while. Got inspired by an RP I'm currently doing with someone and I don't have anything to do right now. Been feeling a creative urge lately. Peter is 18 in this and is a senior in high school. Thanos never got all the stones cuz they stopped him before he could so IW and Endgame basically didn't happen. Neither did Civil War but I still don't like Steve. This is probably gunna be a slow-ish burn. Not too slow cuz I can't write that much. XD So... please don't hate me for liking this ship. It's not hurting anyone and Peter is 18. If you don't like the ship, then don't read the story. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this. ^-^
> 
> TW: There is a bit of bullying in this chapter.

Peter sighs as he sits in class, biting at his thumb nail. Mr. Harrington is giving a lecture he’s already given so Peter isn’t really paying attention. Staring out the window, he let his mind wander to what he was going to do after school. He and Ned were supposed to be hanging out today and working on the new Lego Death Star Ned had gotten. He had thought about going to see Mr. Stark but he assumed the man was busy and he didn’t want to bother him. Ned nudges his leg with his foot to get his attention, startling him a little, and Peter gives his best friend a smile. About ten minutes later, the bell rings and he jumps up, grabbing his books, excited to hang out with Ned. They hadn’t been spending a lot of time together lately due to his Spider-Man thing and Peter feels kind of bad about it. The guy is his best friend. They used to hang out all the time. Unfortunately, since he is stuck in his own head, he isn’t being nearly as observant as he should be and suddenly the floor is coming up rather quickly. Normally, he would blame his own clumsiness on the fall but then he hears laughter from above him and realizes what happened.

“Watch where you’re going, Penis Parker.” Flash Thompson, his long-time bully, says, his tone mocking. Sighing, Peter stands up and notices a twinge of pain in his left ankle that he decides to ignore. _It’ll heal soon enough._ He tells himself, tuning out the rest of Flash’s insults. He walks/limps out of the classroom to his locker, hearing footsteps following him, knowing it’s Ned.

“Hey, dude, you alright?” Ned asks, concern clear in his voice as he stops next to Peter. His friend takes his books from him as he opens his locker.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Wasn’t paying attention. My fault. May have twisted my ankle a little but it’ll heal in, like, an hour or two.” Peter says, shrugging to himself as he grabs his bag and starts putting in the books he’ll need for his homework. Thankfully, it’s Friday so he doesn’t have to actually do any of it tonight. He feels his stomach growl but ignores it, used to being hungry at the end of the since school lunches were never enough for an enhanced metabolism. _Although, that means my ankle might take a bit longer to heal._ He sighs and pulls out his phone, checking his messages and blocking out the other students roaming the hallway. “So, are we hanging out at your place or mine? May has a night shift tonight so we can hang at mine if you’d like? I mean, your mom is great and all, but she can be a little overbearing at times.” When he doesn’t get a response after a few moments, he looks up to see Ned not looking at him. “Ned?”

“I’m really sorry, dude but I kind of forgot we were gunna hang out. I mean, you’ve been patrolling like, every night this week so I figured you’d be doing that tonight too. I… I made plans with Betty.” Ned admits, looking up at Peter to see him smiling softly.

“That’s alright, Ned. Don’t worry about it. I think you mentioned going out with her after school a few days ago. I must have forgotten. We can hang out tomorrow or something.” Peter says, closing his locker. Ned hadn’t said anything about spending time with Betty but that’s alright. He supposed he sort of deserved that for ditching Ned all week. “I was actually planning on going patrolling.” He lies, slipping his bag over his shoulder. “Have fun on your date.” He teases his friend before they do their handshake and he leaves the building.

“Hey, Parker!” Flash shouts at him from the bottom of the steps outside the school and Peter rolls his eyes, trying to ignore the boy. He heads down the steps, planning on finding a place that’s empty so he can change into his Spidey suit. “Parker! Don’t fucking ignore me!” The bully snaps and shoves Peter when he reaches the bottom of the steps. “Hit your head when you fell earlier or something?”

“You mean when you tripped me? No. Just leave me alone, Flash.” Peter mutters and starts walking away, the shove having barely moved him. Next thing he knows, he’s once again on the ground but this time, hit head slams into the concrete and he groans quietly. “What the hell, Flash?” He snaps, touching the side of his head and feeling a bit of blood. _Not good…_ He thinks, shifting to stand when he feels someone pulling him up. Luckily, Flash had gotten bored and left. Looking up, he sees MJ and smiles a little. “Thanks.”

MJ looks at him, a brief flash of concern in her eyes before it’s gone, and she shrugs. “He’s a douche. You alright?” She asks, turning his head to the side to try and see the damage. He moves away, feeling a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him but he takes a deep breath and steadies himself.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Great actually. I…I have to go. Um… See you Monday?” Peter says, cringing mentally at how lame that sounds. He wasn’t sure why he was still so awkward around her when he no longer had a crush on her. He realized not too long ago that he is _definitely_ gay. Now, they’re sort of friends. She simply shrugs and walks off, going back to reading her book. Peter starts walking away from the school and finds an empty alley, ducking into it. He blocks out the pain in his head and ankle, hoping they heal soon, and changes into his suit. Once the mask is on, Karen’s voice greets him, and he smiles.

“Good afternoon, Peter. How was school? Your left ankle seems to be a bit swollen and you have an injury to the right side of your head. Should I contact Mr. Stark that you are injur-“ Karen says, getting hurriedly cut off by Peter when she mentions contacting Mr. Stark.

“No, no, no. No, Karen. Don’t do that. It’s nothing to worry about. School was fine and I am fine. Please don’t… don’t contact him, okay?” Peter gets out, letting out a small sigh of relief when she agrees. “Thank you. Now. Is there any crime nearby? Anything Spider-Man can help with?” He asks, getting to the top of a building and webbing his bag to the roof.

“There appears to an attempted robbery happening a few blocks away at a convenience store. It seems as though it has just started so if you hurry, you may be able to stop them from getting away.” Karen tells him and he heads in the direction she gives him. He gets to the store and perches on top, dropping down silently before sneaking in through a broken window. It looks like there’s only one robber so it shouldn’t be too difficult to take him down. When he sees an opening, he webs the gun away, knocking the robber out before he can make an attempt to get away. All the sudden movement makes his vision blur a little, but it eventually steadies, and he goes over to the girl behind the counter who is crying, probably only fifteen or sixteen.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright. The police are already on their way and he’s out cold. Everything’s okay. Take a deep breath for me.” Peter tells her, going behind the counter to try and calm her down, recognizing the start of a panic attack. After a few minutes, he manages to calm her enough that he’s able to leave without feeling bad. Since his head was still hurting quite a bit, he decides it might be best if he just heads home, not wanting someone to get hurt because he’s off his game. “Alright, Karen. I think it’s time to head home. I may not be as fine as I said. Don’t tell Mr. Stark, though. I don’t want him to worry. It’s not that bad.”

Peter starts swinging back to his bag when a text message pops up in front of him. Frowning, he opens it to see it’s from Mr. Stark, only serving to make him more confused than he already was. “Karen, did you contact Mr. Stark?”

“No, Peter. You told me not to, so I did not.” Karen says, sounding slightly offended which made Peter chuckle a little.

“Alright. Sorry. Just making sure since he just texted me and that’s a bit odd.” Peter stops on the roof and takes his mask off, pulling his phone from his bag to read the text.

**Mr. Stark:** _Hey, kid. You’re out of school now, right? I forget what time school gets out. Anyway, why don’t you stop by the lab. I have a surprise for you._

**Peter:** _A surprise? You didn’t blow anything up, right? And yes, school got out, like, an hour ago. But, yeah, sure. On my way._

Peter shrugs and stands up, slipping his mask back on and putting his phone away. After picking up his bag and securing it to his back, he starts swinging towards the Tower, his excitement making him forget about his injuries. After almost an hour, he gets to the Tower and goes into the lab through the unlocked window that Mr. Stark always unlocks for him when he knows he’s coming by. “Mr. Stark?” He calls out, slipping his mask off and setting his bag near the workbench he uses.

Mr. Stark comes out of a nearby room and smiles at Peter, making the younger man’s stomach swoop just like it always does when Mr. Stark smiles at him. “Hey, kiddo! Glad you could stop by. I have an upgrade for your suit! So, go change so I can do said upgrade.” He says, walking over to his workbench and tinkering with a few things. Peter could see that Mr. Stark hadn’t slept in a few days and he probably hasn’t eaten either, but he doesn’t mention it. Yet.

“Alright. Be right back.” Peter walks to the connected bathroom after grabbing his clothes from his bag, trying not to limp. After a few minutes, he comes back out and brings his suit over to his mentor. “Here you go. So, what’s the upgrade do?” He asks, looking up to see Mr. Stark staring at him with a worried expression. “Uh…Mr. Stark?”

“Kid, why is the right side of your head bleeding?” Mr. Stark asks as he stands up, walking off and coming back with a med kit. “Also, you were limping. Wanna explain that?”

Peter tenses slightly and sighs, letting Mr. Stark lead him to a nearby chair and sitting down. “It’s nothing. I… fell.” He says, which isn’t a complete lie. He did fall. He just doesn’t mention that he was pushed. Or tripped.

“Uh-huh. Right. You ‘fell’. Now, you wanna tell me what really happened? Is it something Spider-Man related? Someone bothering you at school? You get jumped?” Mr. Stark rambles off questions when he clearly doesn’t believe Peter’s sort of lie.

Sighing, Peter tries not to wince when Mr. Stark starts cleaning the small cut on his temple with rubbing alcohol on a cloth. “Uh…Y-yeah. It’s a Spider-Man thing. Was stopping a convenience store robbery and I just got a little hurt.” He says, not wanting to tell his mentor about Flash, not wanting to worry the man.

Raising an eyebrow, Mr. Stark pulls back and gives him a look that says he clearly doesn’t believe him. “Alright. Well, why not just me that? Why lie to me? Did you think I’d take away your suit or something? Because I won’t. A convenience store robbery is definitely something Spider-Man can handle _without_ getting hurt. So, that makes me wonder why you got hurt? Did they have alien tech? Too many of them? What was it?” The man asks, kneeling to check out Peter’s ankle. “Swelling is pretty bad. You need to put ice on it. Also, why hasn’t all of this healed yet?”

Peter shifts in his seat, his anxiety rising a little with all the questions. “Um…there was more than one, yeah. One of them got the jump on me and I tripped and...” He trails off, wincing when Mr. Stark starts touching his swollen ankle. “Not sure why it hasn’t healed. But I’m sure it will. After you do the upgrade, I’ll head home and put some ice on my ankle and relax the rest of the night. Promise.”

“Mhm. Or, we could head up to the penthouse, you can sit on the couch and pick a movie with ice on your elevated ankle, and I can order us some Chinese food. Sound good?” Mr. Stark says, wrapping Peter’s ankle carefully. He stands up and helps Peter up, wrapping an arm around Peter’s waist so he doesn’t put too much weight on his bad ankle.

“Yeah, sure. That… that sounds great. Thanks. Oh! Can we get sweet and sour chicken?” Peter asks, trying not to focus on how close he is to Mr. Stark.

“We can. _If_ you tell me the truth about what happened?”

Peter groans but doesn’t respond at first as they walk to the elevator and make their way up to the penthouse. Once the doors open, Mr. Stark leads him to the couch and helps him sit, moving a pillow onto the coffee table and setting Peter’s ankle on it carefully. “I…I was tripped. And pushed. But it’s nothing. Really.” He says, not missing the flash of anger in Mr. Stark’s eyes.

“So, someone is messing with you. Name.” Mr. Stark says, crossing his arms over his chest. Peter sighs and looks away, not meeting his mentor’s eyes as he shakes his head. “Peter, if someone is bullying you-“

“It’s fine, Mr. Stark. I’m fine. Nothing I can’t handle. So, just drop it, okay? Maybe I should just go home. I have homework anyway.” Peter mutters, shifting to get up but Mr. Stark pushes him back down.

“Fine. I’ll drop it. For now. Just… stay there. You really need to stay off your ankle. Pick a movie. I’ll order food. And, yes, I’ll get you your sweet and sour chicken. Now relax and pick something that’s not Disney.” Peter chuckles as Mr. Stark walks off, picking up the remote to look through the list of movies. He reluctantly ignores a few good Disney movies, although he guesses if he chose one, Mr. Stark wouldn’t complain. He debates for a moment or two about possibly picking a horror movie but decides against it. Eventually, he lands on Wonder Woman since he hasn’t seen it yet, but he’s heard it’s really good. Mr. Stark comes back after about five minutes and chuckles as he sets ice on Peter’s ankle before sitting next to him. Peter resists the urge to scoot closer to the man and presses play, relaxing into the couch.

“Hope this is okay. I haven’t seen it, but people have said it’s really good. But if you don’t want to watch it, you can pick something else. I mean, of course you can, it’s your TV. But it’s not Disney so I thought it would be a good movie for us to watch and-“ Peter starts rambling and his mind is telling him to stop but he can’t seem to until Mr. Stark interrupts him.

“Kid, it’s fine. I haven’t seen it either. We can watch it. Just relax, alright?” The older man says, laying an arm across the back of the couch. Peter nods and takes a deep breath, turning his attention to the screen. They watch the first ten or fifteen minutes of the movie when Mr. Stark pauses it to go get their food. He returns a few minutes later and sets two bags full of food on the coffee table. “I got double of the rice and noodles since you eat as much as Thor.” Mr. Stark says, his tone teasing as he hands a container of rice and chopsticks to Peter.

Nodding, Peter tells him ‘thank you’ around a mouthful of rice, causing the man to laugh again. They hit play and continue with the movie as they eat. At some point, Mr. Stark stopped eating and started watching Peter, but he didn’t seem to notice, too focused on his food and watching Wonder Woman kick some butt. The movie ends and Peter sets his now empty container of sweet and sour chicken down, turning to Mr. Stark and smiling. “So? What’d you think?” He asks excitedly.

Mr. Stark stands up to clean up the trash, not answering at first. He takes everything to the kitchen, putting the leftovers away and throwing away everything else before going back to the couch. “I thought it was fairly good, Pete. Wanna watch another movie? It is Friday so you don’t have school tomorrow and it’s not too late yet. Only…” He trails off as he looks at his watch. “Quarter ‘til midnight. It can even be a Disney movie, I suppose.”

Peter’s eyes light up and he nods, immediately playing The Greatest Showman. “This one I have seen but it’s so good. I think you’ll really like it. But if you don’t, we can change it.”

“It’s fine, kid. If you say it’s good, it can’t be too bad, right?” Mr. Stark jokes, sitting back down a bit closer to Peter without really noticing. He honestly didn’t really care what they watched. The man just didn’t much want to go to bed, avoiding his nightmares. Granted, it had been about three days since he last slept so he expected he may just pass out soon. About halfway through the movie, he feels a soft thud against his shoulder and turns his head to see Peter asleep with his head resting on him. _Must have had a long day._ He thinks, brushing some of the younger man’s curls out of his face. _I’ll let him sleep for now. Not sure I can carry him to the guest room._

Once the movie ends, Tony gently shakes Peter awake and chuckles at the grumble of ‘five more minutes, May’. “Normally, I’d let you sleep, Pete, but this can’t be good for your neck. C’mon. I’ll help you to the guest room and you can get some real sleep.” He says, raising an eyebrow when Peter grumbles something unintelligible as he sits up. The older man stands and helps Peter to his feet, letting the bag of mostly melted ice fall to the floor. He helps Peter to the guest room and can’t help but laugh a little when the kid flops onto the bed and is immediately asleep again. “Goodnight, Peter.” Tony closes the door and heads back out to the main area, shutting the TV off and cleaning up a little. Sighing, he debates on whether he should try to get some sleep or go back to the lab. After a few moments, he decides to go back down to his lab, not wanting to have a nightmare with Peter around.

It’s about three in the morning when Peter startles awake, drenched in a cold sweat and breathing unsteady. Somewhere in his half-asleep mind, he hears FRIDAY trying to talk to him. Jumping out of the bed, he freezes, realizing he doesn’t recognize where he is. The last thing he remembers is watching The Greatest Showman with Mr. Stark. Meaning he probably fell asleep and is in the guest room in the penthouse. _Okay. Okay, Peter, calm down. It was just a nightmare. You’re fine and safe in Mr. Stark’s penthouse._ He tells himself, taking a few deep breaths, finally hearing FRIDAY speaking.

“-arker? Mr. Parker, are you alright? Should I contact Mr. Stark?” She asks, clear concern in her voice and Peter just knew if she had a physical form, she’d be hugging him right now.

“Uh… no. I mean, yes. Yes, I’m alright. No, don’t contact Mr. Stark. Just a bad dream. It’s happened before. Just need some water. Thanks, though, Fri.” Peter says and leaves the room, walking towards the kitchen. He’s there for less than five minutes when he hears footsteps heading his way. He assumes it’s Mr. Stark but it was odd the footsteps weren’t coming from the man’s bedroom. _Well, not that odd. He clearly hasn’t slept in a few days._ The footsteps suddenly stop and he turns to see a rather surprised and exhausted billionaire.

“Peter? What are you doing up? It’s, like, three in the morning.” Mr. Stark says and moves to refill his coffee mug.

“I could as you the same thing, Mr. Stark. You should get some sleep. You don’t look that great.” Peter says, concern flashing through his eyes as he sips from his glass of water. His ankle and head had fully healed since eating always seemed to help speed things along.

“I’m fine, Pete. Don’t worry about it. You should get back to bed.” Mr. Stark dismisses as he walks back in the direction he came from. Peter stands there for a moment, biting his lip in thought.

“Hey, Fri? When’s the last time Mr. Stark slept? And when was the last time he ate before we ate earlier?” Peter asks, his worry for the man only growing at the AI’s response.

“He last slept over 72 hours ago, and he slept for roughly four hours. As for eating, I believe the last time he ate before you two ate Chinese food was 36 hours before that if you don’t count the smoothies he drinks.” She tells him, sounding worried for her creator. Nodding slowly, Peter walks towards the lab. If Mr. Stark wasn’t going to sleep, neither was he. When he walks in, he’s hit with much too loud music and he immediately covers his ears. He mentally thanks FRIDAY when she turns it down for him, but Mr. Stark doesn’t seem very happy about the change.

“Fri, what the hell?! Turn the music back up!” The older man snaps, not looking up from whatever he’s tinkering on.

“Mr. Stark? Are you okay? You really shou-“

“Peter, I said I’m fine. If I wanna sleep, I’ll sleep. But I don’t want to so drop it.” Mr. Stark snaps at him, lifting his head to look at Peter and immediately regretting his words when he sees the kid is upset. “Shit. I’m sorry, Pete. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” He sighs and rubs a hand over his face then through his already messed up hair. “Do you… want to help me with this?”

Peter swallows and shakes his head, tugging nervously on his shirt. “No. I’ll leave you alone. Sorry. Just… get some sleep soon, okay?” He mutters and turns around, leaving before Mr. Stark could get mad at him again. _Maybe I should head home. He doesn’t seem to really want company. But… he has my suit._ Huffing in frustration, Peter goes back to the guest room and sits on the bed, pulling his phone out and playing random phone games. He eventually manages to fall back asleep around 5 AM.

Tony sighs and puts his face in his hands, feeling bad for snapping at Peter. He tells FRIDAY to shut the lab down and heads towards the guest room a few hours later. He raises his hand to knock but stops and shakes his head. “Fri, is he still awake?” He asks, making sure to whisper. When she tells him he isn’t, Tony nods and steps back, heading to his own room. After changing out of his greasy clothes, he showers and finds a clean pair of boxers and pyjama pants, flopping onto his bed. A quick glance at his alarm clock tells him it a quarter after six. He tosses and turns for about thirty minutes before falling into a fitful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mr. Stark? Wha-?” Peter starts to ask as he rubs his eyes, still half asleep.
> 
> “Get out.” Mr. Stark says, his voice cold as he refuses to look at Peter.
> 
> The younger man frowns, confused and sleepy. “Mr. Stark? Is everything okay? I don’t-“
> 
> “I said get out, Peter! Now!” Mr. Stark snaps, facing away from Peter, meaning he doesn’t see the look of shock and hurt on Peter’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I know it's been a while. Apologies for that. Also, something I meant to put in the first chapter but am too lazy to go fix is that I don't own any of the characters. They are owned by Marvel/Disney. Oh! And Trigger Warning for a sort of panic attack in this chapter and probably following chapters. I'll try to remember to post warnings in each chapter that one happens in but I can't promise I'll remember. If you see one and I didn't post a warning, let me know and I'll fix it. Also, if you see any spelling errors, feel free to let me know. I tend to write when I'm half asleep. Oops! Hope you all enjoy! <3

Peter stirs awake the next day, having slept later than he meant to. After asking Friday what time it is (almost 11:30 AM), he sighs and sits up, rubbing his eyes. _I actually slept through breakfast. Huh…_ He stands and leaves the guest room, heading to the kitchen as his stomach growls and freezing when he sees Mr. Stark standing there and filling a mug with fresh coffee. The man doesn’t seem to notice him, so he clears his throat, not wanting to startle Mr. Stark. “Good morning, Mr. Stark.” Peter walks to the fridge and gets out a bottle of water, opening it and taking a small sip.

Mr. Stark jumps slightly when Peter clears his throat and turns to look at the kid, smiling a little. “Morning, kid.” He mutters, taking a drink of his still much too hot coffee, not caring that it burns as it goes down his throat. “Listen, about last night…or I guess, technically it was earlier this morning. Whatever. Not the point. What I’m trying to say is-“

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark. Don’t worry about it. I was annoying you. I get it. I should get home before May wakes up and wonders where I’m at.” Peter says, shrugging a little and walking back towards the guest room when he feels a hand on his arm, stopping him.

“No, hey. Wait a minute. You weren’t annoying me, Pete. I…” Mr. Stark trails off and drops his hand from Peter’s arm, moving it up to scrub it tiredly over his face. “You were just trying to help. I know that. And I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. It wasn’t right or fair. I was tired because I haven’t slept in probably three days and I was frustrated and…Whatever. Doesn’t matter. No excuses. I shouldn’t have snapped at you when you were clearly just trying to help. So. I’m sorry.” He finishes, looking at Peter to see the kid staring at him with wide eyes. “Right. Anyway. Did you wanna do something today? Unless you have plans or something. I mean, we could go grab some lunch. Or order something and go work in the lab.”

Peter feels so much better knowing that Mr. Stark wasn’t angry at him or worse, getting annoyed with him. At the mention of food, his stomach growls rather loudly, making his cheeks dust a light pink as Mr. Stark chuckles. “Food sounds great. We can order something and stay here. Although, maybe not work in the lab? I mean, I love working with you in the lab, but I think you need to…not be in there for a little while.”

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Stark shrugs and nods. “Alright. But you can’t tell anyone about this. If they find out that I caved so easily, my reputation will be ruined.” He says, his tone teasing as he winks at Peter. “Now, then. On to more important matters. Where should we order food from? Pick anywhere you want, Underoos.” He walks to the main area, finding his phone on the coffee table and tossing it to Peter who catches it. “Also, if we aren’t going to be working in the lab, what should we do? We could binge some show neither of us have seen. Have a movie marathon. Build a pillow and blanket fort. I could kick your ass at Mario Kart.”

Peter laughs and follows Mr. Stark to the main area, sitting on the couch and looking through the different restaurants on the phone. “Watching movies or some show could be fun. Same with building a fort. And I would obviously kick your butt at Mario Kart, just like I did last time.” He says, finding the deli he always goes to that has the _best_ sandwiches. He puts in his own order and hands the phone back to Mr. Stark so the man can put in his own order. He realizes rather quickly that he’s still wearing the same clothes from the day before and makes a face. “Hey, Mr. Stark? Can I borrow some clothes? If not, I can just swing home real quick.”

“Yeah, sure, kid. Just pick something from the dresser in my room. You can shower if you want, too. It’ll take a bit for the food to get here anyway.” Mr. Stark says and Peter gets up, walking to the older man’s bedroom. He hadn’t ever actually been in here before and part of him was dying to snoop around. However, he knew Friday was watching and would tell Mr. Stark if he did anything. He finds a pair of flannel pyjama pants and an old MIT hoodie and heads to the bathroom.

Tony sits in the main area, flipping through channels when his mind starts to wander to Peter actually wearing his clothes and he now regrets letting the kid do so. _Well, too late now._ He tells himself, rubbing his forehead as a wave of guilt and self-hate wash over him.

About twenty minutes later, Peter walks back into the room with still wet hair and sits down next to Mr. Stark, making sure to keep some distance between them. “Thanks for letting me borrow these. Once I’m home, I’ll get them washed and bring them back.”

Mr. Stark waves a dismissive hand at him and shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it, kid. Keep them if you want.” He says, not taking his eyes off the screen. Just as Peter opens his mouth to respond, the elevator dings and off walks Captain Rogers.

“Stark, I need you to-“ The Captain cuts himself off when he sees Peter sitting next to Mr. Stark, in what is clearly not his own clothing. Captain Rogers raises an eyebrow and clears his throat. “Peter. Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I came by after school yesterday and fell asleep, so I stayed overnight.” Peter says, not noticing the tension between Mr. Stark and Captain Rogers.

“Right. Stark, can I talk to you for a moment? In the kitchen?” Captain Rogers asks, clearly forgetting that Peter has super hearing. Mr. Stark sighs and rolls his eyes, already knowing where this was going.

“I mean…am I allowed to say no? Or are you going to drag me into the kitchen anyway?” He asks as he stands up, not really in the mood for Steve’s righteousness. He follows Capsicle to the kitchen, knowing Peter will still hear them but not thinking that would be much of an issue.

“What the hell, Tony?” Steve yell-whispers, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Tony that look that the billionaire hates.

“What? You heard him. He came here after school, we watched a few movies, he fell asleep and stayed in the _guest room_. Since he stayed the night unexpectedly, he had to borrow some clothes.” Tony snaps, raising an eyebrow at Steve. “Is there a problem, _Captain_?” He asks, glaring at the man. There had always been some tension between the two of them, but they tolerated each other for the good of the team. When everything with the Accords happened and the team almost split because of Bucky Barnes, the tension only grew. Now, Tony couldn’t stand to be in the same room as the super soldier for too long without snapping at him. He no longer hated Barnes for what happened since it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t him that killed his parents, it was the Winter Soldier. But he hated Steve for not telling him. He felt betrayed and he lost all trust and respect he may have had for the hero. If it were up to him, Steve wouldn’t be on the team anymore.

“It just seems…odd. Just…don’t do anything stupid, Stark. I mean it. He’s doing good and he doesn’t need you fucking that up.” Steve snaps and Tony is just about to punch the man when Peter pokes his head into the kitchen.

“Sorry to interrupt but the food is here, Mr. Stark.” Peter says, walking over to Mr. Stark and giving the Captain an almost real looking smile. He had heard what the super soldier had said and once Mr. Stark leaves to pay for the food, Peter’s smile drops. “Next time you want to be mean to Mr. Stark for _no reason_ , maybe remember that others have enhanced hearing, too.” He says and leaves the kitchen, going back to his spot on the couch. He doesn’t pay any attention to Captain Rogers as he leaves, smiling at Mr. Stark when he comes back with their food.

“Alright. So, have you decided what we’re going to do?” Mr. Stark asks as he sets their sandwiches on the coffee table. He walks to the kitchen to grab a couple bottles of water before coming back and sitting next to the younger man.

Peter shrugs and leans back against the couch, the hoodie he’s wearing giving him sweater paws since it was a bit too big on him. “Well, maybe while we eat, we could watch some random show neither of us have seen. Then, after, I can kick your butt at Mario Kart.” He says, picking up his sandwich with a small smirk. He hears Mr. Stark huff out a laugh and smiles more, glad he’s able to cheer the man up a little. He tenses for a moment when the older man ruffles his hair, resisting the urge to lean into the contact.

“Sounds good, kid. Except, you won’t be winning this time. I’ve been practicing.” Mr. Stark says, his tone teasing as he finds some show they can watch. He finds an older show called The Mentalist that neither men have heard of before, but it sounds sort of interesting. They get through the first season as they eat, Peter not noticing Tony watching him every so often. Once they finish eating, they decide to start on the second season, both liking the show quite a bit. They stop halfway through the second season when Mr. Stark’s phone rings. The man sighs and gets up, excusing himself to the next room.

Tony answers the call from Pepper, getting a sinking feeling in his gut. “Hey, Pep. Was hoping to hear from you today. Let me guess. Captain Righteous called you and said that I’m hanging out with Peter?” He asks with fake enthusiasm, clearly having expected this after Cap’s visit. He hears Pepper sigh on the other line.

“Tony, don’t do that. He was just worried. Asked me to call you. He…he said Peter was wearing your clothes. I-“

“Nope. Gunna stop you right there, Pep. He stayed over last night because he fell asleep watching movies. Needed clothes. Easier than going home. Gods, I shouldn’t have to explain myself, Pep. This is ridiculous. I mean, Cap I understand. His righteous ass thinks he’s always right. But you, Pep? Really?” Tony says, his fake enthusiasm gone, now replaced with annoyance.

“Tony-“

“No. Bye, Pepper.” Tony snaps, hanging up the phone. He sighs and turns to see Peter standing there, cursing himself mentally. “Hey, Pete. Sorry. Pep just wanted to talk to me about something at work.” He says, hoping Peter hadn’t heard anything.

Peter sighs and shakes his head. “Why does everyone forget that I have super hearing?” He asks, genuinely confused. He had heard what they both said. Did it hurt? A little. A lot, actually. Is he going to tell Mr. Stark that? No. Obviously not. How could he? The man clearly saw him as a kid. Probably saw him as a son in a way. So, instead, he forces a small smile and clears his throat, thinking up a lie as to why he has to leave. “I should get home. May is probably wondering where I am. Plus, I have homework. Thanks for letting me hang out, Mr. Stark. It was fun. Maybe you can kick my butt at Mario Kart some other time.” He says, walking in the direction of the guest room to get his things. “I’ll just grab my stuff and my suit and head out. Sorry if I got you in trouble or something.” He says as he leaves the kitchen.

Tony curses out loud this time and follows Peter to the guest room, standing in the doorway as the kid grabs his bag. “You can stay. I can let May know you’re here. Besides, we should finish season two. Then, ya know, seasons three through seven.” He says, smiling softly. He had honestly had more fun in the past day and a half with Peter than he has in a while. He’s felt rather lonely lately. Sure, the rest of the team lives in the Tower now but everyone has their own floor. Plus, Tony didn’t like spending time with most of them. He liked being in his lab. He just got lonely sometimes. But with Peter around, he feels less lonely.

Peter looks at Mr. Stark and hesitates for a moment, knowing he didn’t really _have_ to go home just yet. He could always do his homework here and he knew May wouldn’t care if he stayed again since she probably had another overnight shift. He takes a deep breath before setting his bag down and smiling back at Mr. Stark. “Guess it wouldn’t be right to leave without at least finishing season two.” He says, his breath hitching slightly when Mr. Stark gives him a bright smile.

They head back out to the main room and sit on the couch, a bit closer than before. Mr. Stark puts his arm over the back of the couch like he did the night before. Neither is sure who fell asleep first but soon enough, they’re both asleep, Tony leaning back a little with Peter’s head tucked under the man’s chin.

A little while later, Tony’s phone starts beeping at him and he groans quietly, not wanting to wake up. His mind doesn’t register yet that there is someone laying against him or that his arm is around said person. He slowly wakes up and immediately tenses, realizing he fell asleep with Peter around. However, that’s not the worst part. Peter is currently cuddled up close with his head tucked under Tony’s chin and snoring softly. “Shit.” He curses, quickly jumping up, not caring at the moment that Peter let out a surprised sound when he drops onto the couch.

“Mr. Stark? Wha-?” Peter starts to ask as he rubs his eyes, still half asleep.

“Get out.” Mr. Stark says, his voice cold as he refuses to look at Peter.

The younger man frowns, confused and sleepy. “Mr. Stark? Is everything okay? I don’t-“

“I said get out, Peter! Now!” Mr. Stark snaps, facing away from Peter, meaning he doesn’t see the look of shock and hurt on Peter’s face. He hears footsteps as the young man gets up and gets his things, waiting until the elevator doors close before turning back around. He sighs and sits down on the couch, putting his head in his hands. “Friday, lock down this floor. No one in or out unless I say so.” He says, ignoring the concern in his AI’s voice as she agrees and locks down the floor.

In the lobby, the elevator doors open and a rather upset teenager rushes out, running out the front doors as his anxiety spikes, ignoring Happy calling his name. Peter runs down the street until he’s a few blocks from the Tower and ducks into an alley, his breathing extremely unsteady and getting worse. He’s still extremely confused. Why was Mr. Stark so angry with him? Had he done something to upset the man without realizing? He leans against the side of a building and slides down until he’s sitting, hugging his knees to his chest. He tries to get his breathing under control, not wanting to have a panic attack in some dark alley. _Just stop. Calm down. Please. Not here._ He starts doing the exercises he read about online and soon enough, his breathing starts to slow down. He manages a few deep, albeit shaky, breaths before standing up and leaving the alley. Sighing, he starts making his way to the subway, feeling rather exhausted now. He finally makes it home and goes inside, not surprised to find May gone. There’s a note on the fridge:

**_Had another overnight shift. Please make sure you eat something. I left money for food on the counter. Love you, sweetie. <3_ **

**_-May_ **

Peter smiles a little and sets the note on the counter, seeing the money she left there. He goes to his room, not feeling all that hungry at the moment. Instead, he lays on his bed and decides to text Mr. Stark.

**Peter:** _Hey, Mr. Stark. Just wanted to say that I’m sorry for whatever I did._

He lay there, waiting for a response. After almost ten minutes with nothing, he bites his lip and decides to try again.

**Peter:** _If I upset you, could you at least tell me what I did? I didn’t mean to. I’m not even sure what happened._

He waits another few minutes and debates on if he should send another one when his phone dings with a new message notification. He pulls it up but immediately frowns and throws his phone across the room.

**Mr. Stark:** _Mr. Stark has asked me to tell you to stop texting him, Mr. Parker. I am sorry._

Peter turns and faces the wall, tears welling up in his eyes. He huffs and wipes away the tears when they start to fall. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t even know what he did wrong. How could he fix it if he didn’t know what he did? _Did I do anything, though? I mean, we were asleep. And he freaked out. Maybe… maybe he just had a bad dream or something and didn’t want me to see him like that? But then, why kick me out? Why not just go into another room or lock himself in his lab?_ He buries his face in his pillow as his mind races, starting to think maybe he hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe something just happened, and Mr. Stark didn’t want him there. Didn’t mean it hurt any less that Mr. Stark yelled at him. _Just give him a few days to cool off. Bugging him is just gunna make it worse._ He thinks, sniffling a little. He feels a familiar tug at the back of his mind, a voice he thought he forgot a long time ago. He promptly shoves that voice into a box and ignores it as hard as he can as a shudder rolls through him.

“Just give him a few days.” Peter repeats to himself out loud, closing his eyes. After almost an hour, his stomach starts growling so he reluctantly gets up and goes to order a pizza, not paying any attention to his phone as it buzzes in a pile of clothes where it landed, texts from a very concerned Happy appearing on the screen. He sits in the living room and flips through channels as he eats. Once he’s eaten the entire pizza, he showers and puts on his Hello Kitty pants and Mr. Stark’s hoodie, wanting to wear it for a bit longer. Not having anything else to do, he goes back to the living room and gets out his homework. Unfortunately, he finishes that in a little over an hour. So, he goes back to flipping through channels, checking the time. _Not even 10, yet._

He should probably go out and patrol tonight. And so, he does. He stays out until almost four in the morning, just wanting to swing around the city for a while. There wasn’t mush crime to stop so he swings for hours. When he finally does get home, he slips out of his suit, hides it, and gets back into his clothes from before. He flops onto his bed and is asleep the second his head hits the pillow. Maybe when he wakes up, Mr. Stark won’t be mad at him anymore and that voice will be gone again.

* * *

Tony goes to his lab and locks that down as well just in case someone got onto his floor without his permission. It’s happened before. Luckily, his lab wasn’t so easily accessible. He made it that way on purpose. Sometimes, he just needed to get away from people. This was one of those times. Gods, he had been _cuddling_ with Peter. _Peter_. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he do that? He probably freaked the kid out since he was fairly certain he didn’t see Tony that way. And why would he? Tony was, like, thirty years older than him.

Tony curses and throws his wrench across the lab, sitting down on his chair. “Shit.” He mutters, rubbing his hand over his face. For a moment, after he woke up and saw Peter cuddled up close, he felt happy. Like they belonged there. And what’s even more fucked is, he wants that. So badly. Therefore, he had to snap at Peter because if he didn’t push the kid away, he was a bit worried about what he might do. What he wanted to do. It was the right thing to do, no matter how much it hurt his very soul to upset him. Friday tells him he has a new text from Peter, but he tells her to ignore it. Ten minutes later, when another text comes through, he tells her to tell Peter to fuck off. She, of course, phrases it differently since even she can’t be that mean to Peter.

“Boss, perhaps you should call Mr. Parker? He seems to be rather-“

“Play my music, Fri. And not another word about Peter. I did what needed to be done.” Tony snaps at her, starting to work on one of his suits to distract himself from how shitty he feels.

Over the next couple of days, Tony stays locked in his lab and he works. He works until he passes out at his desk. He wakes up late Monday morning and groans quietly, his back and neck screaming at him. He looks over when Dum-E nudges his arm, patting his robotic arm gently. “Hey, bud. I’m good. Thanks for the wake up.” He says, getting up and walking over to the coffee machine he keeps in his lab, his back cracking in a few places. “Fucking hell…” He takes a deep breath as he tries to remember the past couple of days, cringing when Saturday comes back to him. Maybe he was a little harsh on the kid. It wasn’t like he meant to cuddle with him. They just fell asleep. It happens. “Damnit…I have to apologize, don’t I?” He asks, speaking to himself. Except, he’s never really talking to himself, he realizes as Friday chimes in.

“Yes, Boss. I believe you owe Mr. Parker an apology. According to Karen, Mr. Parker went out patrolling last night and stayed out until almost six in the morning simply swinging around the city. Normally on school nights, he only stays out until two at the latest. It seems as though you have upset Mr. Parker and you should apologize.” His AI tells him, somehow sounding angry and concerned at the same time.

“Right, right. I’ll talk to him. Although, I doubt he’ll answer a phone call…” Tony mutters, walking over to his desk and frowning. “What time does Peter’s school let out? And what time is it now?”

“Mr. Parker’s school lets out at 3:30 PM. And it is currently 11:38 AM.”

Tony hums softly and nods, walking towards the door. “Take my floor off lockdown. But ask me before letting anyone up.” He says, letting his lab shut down behind him as he heads to his room and bathroom to shower. After he’s cleaned up and in a suit, he checks the time and sighs, thinking about what he could do to kill time. He decides to check his phone which ends up being a mistake when he sees the texts from Peter. He can’t help but smile a little at the one from Friday, glad his girl had rephrased what he’d said. He ends up checking emails until a quarter after three then heads down to the garage. He finds a car, not really paying attention to which one, and drives off towards Peter’s school. When he gets there, he parks out front and waits for Peter.

* * *

Peter wakes up late Sunday morning and stay in his room most of the day. He comes out for lunch and talks with May a little. After that, he goes back to his room and checks over his homework. He resists the urge to check his phone for a text from Mr. Stark, knowing there won’t be one. That evening, after May goes to bed, he slips out of the apartment to go patrolling. He stays out way later than he knows he should, the sun starting to come up by the time he gets home. He crashes when he hits his pillow, running on autopilot.

The next morning, he groans as his alarm goes off, begrudgingly getting up and getting dressed for school. He has to race to the subway, almost missing it. He goes through the day, feeling exhausted and almost falling asleep in a few of his classes. He doesn’t even really react when Flash taunts him at lunch. Ned tries to talk to him and ask what’s wrong, but he just tells his friend that he’s tired. Which wasn’t a lie. He gets up to go to class when the bell rings, wincing when Flash shoulder checks him.

After school is finally over, he gets his stuff from his locker and heads out the front doors, not noticing the group of kids checking out a car near the front. He sighs when he sees Flash and rolls his eyes, turning to walk the other way when he calls out ‘Penis Parker’ and his group of friends laugh.

Tony sees Peter leave the school and gets out of the car, planning to call out to him to get his attention. His head snaps to a teen when he calls out some name, obviously meaning it to hurt Peter in some way. _Must be the fucker that pushed him._ He closes the car door and starts walking towards Peter, ignoring all the kids trying to get his attention. “Hey! Pete!” He smiles and takes his sunglasses off as Peter looks at him, eyes going wide.

“Mr. Stark? What are you doing here?” Peter asks, seeing Flash staring at them out of the corner of his eye.

Mr. Stark keeps his bright smile and slings his arm around Peter’s shoulders. “I’m here to pick you up from school. Thought I could give you a ride to the Tower. That okay?” He asks, looking at the kid that had been taunting Peter. “Who’s that?” He asks, feeling Peter tense.

“No one. Let’s just go before he-“ Peter gets cut off as the teen runs over to them, smiling brightly.

“Mr. Stark! Hey! Flash Thompson. I…I’m a huge fan!” Flash says, giving Peter an odd look. _No. Nope. Not happening. Nobody treats **my** Peter like that._ Tony forces a smile, his ‘press smile’, as Pepper calls it.

“That right? Well, Mr. Thompson. If I ever hear you calling Mr. Parker that name again, you won’t be going to this school anymore. Or any school in this state. Got it? Good. Have a nice day, kid. C’mon, Pete.” Mr. Stark says, making sure to keep his voice quiet enough that only the three of them can hear him, and turns around, leading a stunned Peter towards his car.

Once they’re in the car and headed towards the Tower, Peter finally speaks up. “Mr. Stark, you didn’t have to do that. And you didn’t have to pick me up. I’m sorry for-“

“Gunna stop you right there, Pete. Two reasons. Well, three. One, I did have to do that because you clearly weren’t going to stop him. Two, I know I didn’t have to pick you up, I wanted to. And C, don’t you dare apologize for anything. What happened on Saturday wasn’t your fault. And I shouldn’t have snapped at you. So, I’m sorry. There. Two apologies in three days. That’s a first.” He says, glancing at Peter before putting his eyes back on the road. “But, seriously, Peter. I am sorry. What happened wasn’t your fault.” He says, a bit taken aback when Peter almost shouts in the following seconds.

“I don’t even know what happened!” Peter says, sounding frustrated. He wasn’t sure if it was the exhaustion or if he was just frustrated. “I mean, one second, we’re watching The Mentalist, then you’re yelling at me! What happened? Maybe I can stop it from happening again if I know what it was.”

Tony sighs as he pulls in the garage and parks the car. He rubs his forehead, wanting to be honest with Peter but worried he might have to explain other things that he would rather not think about. “Well...” He cards his fingers through his hair, cursing mentally. “I…we were… cuddling. Which was an accident because we fell asleep.” He says, realizing how stupid it sounds.

Peter blinks a few times, watching Mr. Stark. “You… You got mad because we were cuddling?” He asks, sounding confused.

“Yeah. Which sounds stupid now. Point is, I’m sorry for snapping at you. Anyway. Wanna go play Mario Kart or something?” Mr. Stark asks, looking at Peter with a smile. His smile falls when he sees Peter staring at him. “Look, Pete, I know it was stupid to get upset about that and I’m-“ He’s cut off when he suddenly has his arms full of Peter. “Peter?”

Peter doesn’t say anything for a few moments, just hugging Mr. Stark. He eventually pulls away, smiling a little. “Mario Kart sounds fun.” He says, getting out of the car and walking towards the door. Mr. Stark sits there for a second before getting out and following Peter inside and up to his floor.

“You go ahead and get the game started. I need to change clothes.” Mr. Stark says and disappears into his room. By the time he comes back, now wearing sweats and a t-shirt, Peter is laying down on the couch, his shoes still on, and he’s snoring softly.

Tony smiles softly and walks over to Peter and carefully picks him up bridal style, his cheeks heating up as Peter nuzzles into his neck. He takes a deep breath and starts walking to the guest room, laying him down on the bed after pulling his shoes off and dropping them to the floor. He moves to stand but stops when he realizes that Peter is holding onto his shirt. “Pete, you gotta let go.” He says, frowning when Peter’s grip tightens. “Alright, easy.” He sighs and carefully lays down, letting Peter cuddle in close. “Guess I’m staying here, then. Night, Pete.” He whispers, unable to resist the urge to run his fingers through Peter’s curls, having wanted to do that for far too long. _This is going to be interesting to explain in the morning._ Tony thinks as darkness washes over him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that was Ch. 2. Hope you liked it. Remember, please no hate in the comments. I'd love comments but if you're going to be mean or hateful, please don't. Anyway, thanks for the hits and kudos. It's amazing people are actually reading this. Love you all! Be safe out there! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Pete? Everything okay?” Mr. Stark asks, his voice rough from sleep and making him sound so freaking- NO! Stop that!
> 
> “Um… Yeah, Mr. Stark. I… I’m fine. I just… I have to get going cuz I have to get to school or I’ll be late and May will be mad and-…” He starts rambling but Mr. Stark holds up a hand to cut him off.
> 
> “Peter, whoa. Take a breath, kid. I can drive you to school, don’t worry about it.” Mr. Stark sit up and rubs his eyes before giving Peter a soft smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry. I know it's been a while since I've posted. And, honestly, this chapter has been done for a little over a month. I never posted it cuz it just feels... off. Like something doesn't fit or needs to be added or... I don't know. But I can't figure out what. So, I'm posting it. If it sucks, I'm sorry. I might edit it at some point. For now, here's chapter 3.

**Chapter 3**

Peter groans quietly when he hears his phone alarm going off, not wanting to get up for school. Sighing, he moves to sit up but immediately freezes when he realizes he’s not alone. His panic spikes for a few seconds as that familiar voice starts trying to taunt him in his mind but he calms when the day before comes back to him. Mr. Stark picked him up after school, told Flash off, apologized, and they were going to play Mario Kart… _I fell asleep, though. I think. So… does that mean I’m still at the Tower? And Mr. Stark is…_ He opens his eyes and tilts his head back to see Mr. Stark, still asleep but starting to wake up. He sits up, dislodging the older man’s arm and grabs his phone, turning the alarm off. _What if he’s mad again?_

“Pete? Everything okay?” Mr. Stark asks, his voice rough from sleep and making him sound so freaking- _NO! Stop that!_

“Um… Yeah, Mr. Stark. I… I’m fine. I just… I have to get going cuz I have to get to school or I’ll be late and May will be mad and-…” He starts rambling but Mr. Stark holds up a hand to cut him off.

“Peter, whoa. Take a breath, kid. I can drive you to school, don’t worry about it.” Mr. Stark sit up and rubs his eyes before giving Peter a soft smile. “How about I go make us some breakfast while you get ready for school?” He offers, chuckling softly when Peter just nods while staring at him.

After the man leaves the room, Peter gets up and starts pacing while biting his thumbnail. _At least he wasn’t mad or upset this time. But why? Why was he so upset last time?_ Deciding he won’t get any answers unless he just asks the man himself, Peter starts getting ready for school. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any spare clothes here, so he’ll either have to wear the same clothes he wore yesterday or borrow more of Mr. Stark’s. No matter what he chooses, Flash will probably make fun of him. At least with the latter option, he gets to wear the older man’s clothes again. He leaves the guest room and goes to Mr. Stark’s bedroom, only grabbing a hoodie since none of the pants would fit him well enough. He heads to the kitchen once he’s more or less ready and sits at the island.

“Hey. Made some toast, eggs, and bacon. Would have made pancakes but I don’t have all the ingredients. Maybe next time.” Mr. Stark says, turning to put a plate in front of Peter. He stops and stares at the younger man when he notices the hoodie he’s wearing but he recovers quick enough that Peter doesn’t seem to notice.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.” Peter says, taking a bite of toast once the plate is set in front of him.

“Not a problem, Pete.” Mr. Stark says, sitting down next to him with his own plate but barely eats any of it. “Listen, Peter, about this morning-…” He starts but gets cut off by the kid standing up so fast he almost knocks over the stool he was on.

“We should get going! Don’t wanna be late, right? C’mon, Mr. Stark.” Peter says, taking his plate to the sink then walking towards the elevator, grabbing his bag on the way.

Mr. Stark sighs and gets up, leaving his plate there and following the kid, getting on the elevator and taking it down to the garage. Once they’re in a car and headed towards Peter’s school, he tries to start up the conversation again. “Peter, I really think we should talk about this morning. I-…”

“We really shouldn't, Mr. Stark. It’s fine.” Peter says just as the man pulls up in front of his school. “Thanks for yesterday and for the ride. I’ll see you later, okay?” He gets out of the car before Mr. Stark can say anything else, walking towards the front doors of the building. He waves off Ned’s questions and heads to his locker. He felt a little bad for ignoring his friend like that and for being kind of rude to Mr. Stark but he just didn’t want to deal with any of it right now. He sighs when he hears Flash coming down the hallway, trying his best to ignore him as he gets his books from his locker. Unfortunately, today just was not his day. _Shocker._

“Hey, Parker!” Flash snaps as he slams Peter’s locker shut, making him pull his hand back quick to avoid getting it smashed in the locker. “Next time, get a guy that actually looks like Tony Stark. That guy was such a shitty lookalike. How much did you pay him to come pick you up yesterday just so everyone would think you actually knew the real Tony Stark?” He asks, noticing the hoodie and laughing. “Judging by the clothes, I’m betting you just let him fuck you since you don’t have any money.”

Peter rolls his eyes and turns to walk away, not planning on giving Flash the satisfaction of responding. However, Flash decides to grab his shoulder and shove him into the lockers, wincing when one of the locks digs into his back. “Get off, Flash.” He says, moving to pull away when Flash pulls his fist back. Now, the smart thing to do would be to dodge it but he doesn’t. Next thing he knows, he’s on the ground, holding his stomach after getting hit rather hard. _Whatever. It’ll heal by tomorrow._ He thinks, getting up as Flash runs off when he sees a teacher walking around the corner.

The rest of the day is pretty uneventful. He goes to his classes, takes notes, and gets his assignments. Once the last bell rings, he leaves the school and is a little disappointed when he doesn’t see Mr. Stark’s car waiting for him. He takes the subway home to find May gone and another note on the counter, saying there’s food in the freezer for dinner and to make sure he does his homework. Smiling a little, he wanders to his room and drops his bag just as his phone dings with a new message notification.

 **Mr. Stark:** _Hey, Pete. Friday said you should be home from school by now and I have an upgrade for your suit. If you could come by the lab, we could get it hooked up before you go patrolling tonight._

Peter takes a deep breath and sighs, a bit worried about seeing the older man again but he loves working on his suit with him.

 **Peter:** _Alright. I’ll be over in a few._

After slipping his suit on, he sneaks out his bedroom window and starts swinging through the city, ignoring the pain in his abdomen from where he was punched. He gets to the Tower and goes into the lab through a window that opens for him, dropping down and pulling his mask off. “Hey, Mr. Stark. What’s the new upgrade?”

Mr. Stark is leaning against his desk as Peter walks closer, letting out a soft sigh. “Fri, lock down the lab for me.” He says, noticing Peter tense and holding up his hands. “Listen, kid, I just think we need to talk, alright? I know I shouldn’t have lied to get you here but I knew you would just ignore me if I didn’t. You seemed pretty upset this morning. Now, if I made you uncomfortable with what happened, I didn’t mean to. You fell asleep on the couch so I took you to the guest room and you wouldn’t let go of me. It won’t happen again, alright?” He says, raising an eyebrow when Peter just stares at him, looking confused.

“Wait, you’re not upset that we were cuddling? I mean, you were upset last time. Still not really sure why you were so upset since it’s just _cuddling_. I cuddle with May all the time. I just… I thought you were gunna be mad again so…” Peter sighs and shakes his head. “I wasn’t uncomfortable Mr. Stark. I… I actually like cuddling with you.” He says, hoping his cheeks aren’t pink right now.

“You… you like… Alright. That’s… that’s fine.” Mr. Stark says, taking a deep breath and rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, no. That’s not fine. Pete, we can’t… do that. Okay?”

Peter frowns and shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why? Like I said, I cuddle with May all the time. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“You cuddling with May is different. She’s your aunt. I’m… it’s just not something we should be doing. And it won’t happen again so, it doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter, Mr. Stark. Why does us cuddling seem to freak you out so much?” Peter asks, starting to sound frustrated.

“Because it’s not appropriate, Peter!” Mr. Stark snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Us cuddling isn’t-…”

“What do you mean ‘not appropriate’? It’s just cuddling. How is it not-…” Peter stops as his eyes go wide, staring at Mr. Stark. _Wait. Does he feel the same way? That can’t be it. Right?_ Moving closer to the older man, Peter works up the courage for what he’s about to do. _Please don’t let me be wrong. Not this time._ He thinks as he gets up on his toes and just barely brushes his lips against the other’s, giving the man enough time to pull away. To his surprise and relief, Mr. Stark seems to mutter something in Italian, probably a curse word, before grabbing Peter’s face and claiming the younger man’s lips with his own. Peter lets out a small squeak before wrapping his arms around Mr. Stark’s neck and kissing back rather enthusiastically, even though he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. The kiss lasts all of five seconds before Mr. Stark is pushing Peter back with a hand on his chest, shaking his head.

“Peter, no. I’m serious. We can’t. And don’t give me that face, it’s not going to work. You should go home.” Mr. Stark says, but makes no move to push Peter away any further. He tries to look away from the puppy dog eyes Peter is giving him but he eventually just sighs and runs his fingers through Peter’s hair. “Pete, you’re young. Too young. And don’t give me the whole ‘I’m an adult’ thing, because yes, technically you are eighteen but… Peter you’re _eighteen_. You have your whole life ahead of you. Plenty of time to find the right guy or girl.”

Peter keeps his arms around Mr. Stark’s shoulders, not willing to pull away, or be pushed away, just yet. “I’ve already found the right guy, Mr. Stark. I’m looking at him. It’s my life, right? Shouldn’t _I_ get to choose who I spend it with?” He asks, his cheeks flushing slightly. “I want this, Mr. Stark. Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I don’t know what I want. Let me make my own decisions.”

Sighing softly and hesitantly meeting Peter’s gaze, Mr. Stark gives him a small smile. “Peter…” He mutters, unable to stop himself from once again carding his fingers through the younger man’s hair. “I suppose you’re right. You should get to make your own decisions. Even if they aren’t very good decisions.” He says, his tone teasing. He stops Peter when he leans in for another kiss, chuckling softly when he whines. “Hold on, Pete. I think we need to talk about this first.” He says, shaking his head when Peter groans. “Also, maybe you should start calling me Tony.”

“If I do, can we kiss again? Cuz that was nice. I really liked that.” Peter says, looking at Mr. St- _Tony_ with a smile. _Yeah, that’s gunna take some getting used to._

“Peter.”

“Tony.” Peter says, smiling when Tony raises an eyebrow. He can’t stop the small noise of surprise that slips out when he suddenly has Tony’s lips against his again, sliding his fingers into the older man’s hair. He doesn’t even bother to stop his whine when Tony breaks the kiss, pouting a little.

“There. Now, come on. We seriously need to talk. We can order some pizza and turn on some crappy movie and even cuddle but we _are_ going to talk. And as tempting as it is, you probably shouldn’t stay the night.” Tony says, taking Peter’s hand and pulling him towards the elevator.

“We can cuddle?” Peter asks, smiling brightly as he laces their fingers together.

“Really? That’s all you got from what I just said?” Tony asks, smiling as he shakes his head. “Yes, Pete, we can cuddle.” He says, kissing Peter’s head. By the time they get to his floor, Friday has already placed their usual pizza order and opened up Netflix. Peter runs off to change out of his suit and into some of Tony’s sweatpants and an old t-shirt. Once he gets back, he smiles at the other just deciding to wear his clothes and waves him over to the couch, patting the spot next to him. “Come here, Pete.”

Smiling, Peter sits down and happily cuddles close to Tony, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist and resting his head on his shoulder. “So, what should we watch?” He asks, tilting his head back to look up at Tony.

“No idea. Pick whatever you want. Just make sure it won’t be too distracting so we can talk.” Tony says, his arm going around Peter’s shoulders. He takes a deep breath, trying to ignore the part of his mind telling him to just send Peter home. After Peter puts on some random movie, he shifts a bit, rubbing Peter’s arm. “Okay, so, are you sure you want to do this, Pete? Because if you’re not, we can just go back to how things were and pretend all of this never happened. I just… I want to be sure that you do actually want this.”

“Mr. Stark… er… Tony. Sorry. Still not used to that." Peter pauses and takes a deep breath. "I want this, Tony. I want you. I really don’t think I can go back to how things used to be now that I know what it feels like to kiss you. Please. I know what I want.” Peter says, shifting to sit up so he can look at Tony properly. “Honestly, I’ve wanted this for years. But, I mean, it would have been illegal back then, so…”

“Oh, come on, Pete. Don’t say that. That makes me feel like some gross old man…” Tony groans and puts his head in his hands.

Peter’s eyes widen and he shakes his head, sliding his arms around Tony’s waist and kissing his shoulder. “I’m sorry. You’re not, though. I mean, you are older than me but you’re definitely not gross.” He says, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Tony smiles and turns his head, kissing Peter’s nose. “Well, thanks. Good to know you don’t think I’m gross.” He says, sighing softly. “We’ll have to tell May. And the team. Sooner rather than later. If we don’t tell them and they find out some other way, they could say we were trying to hide it from them.” He says, smirking when Peter groans. “I know you’re nervous about telling May but I’ll be there with you. Even if that does put me at risk of being punched and/or slapped.”

“So… does this mean we can give this a shot? You’re my boyfriend?” Peter asks, laughing softly when Tony rolls his eyes.

“Guess it wasn’t very clear when I said we’d have to tell everyone. Yes, Peter. We can give this a shot. Just know, once the media finds out, they’ll probably say some pretty nasty stuff. You ready for that? I’ve pretty much become immune to it over the years.” Tony says, leaning back so Peter can cuddle up to his side again.

“I’ll be fine.” Peter says, shrugging a little. “I’ll just try to ignore it.”

“They might also make up stories. About both of us. Just… if you see something in a magazine, come talk to me about it before freaking out and I promise I’ll do the same.” Tony says, absentmindedly playing with Peter’s curls.

“Okay. I can do that.” He says, nuzzling at Tony’s hand and closing his eyes. Within minutes, his head drops onto Tony’s shoulder and he’s fast asleep.

Tony smiles and sighs, shaking his head. “So much for you not staying the night.” He whispers, kissing Peter’s head. He watches whatever movie Peter had put on, carefully getting up when the pizza gets there. When he gets back to the living room, Peter is sort of curled up on the couch and he’s rolled over so his back is to the room. Not wanting to wake him just yet, Tony walks to the kitchen to get something to drink for both himself and Peter, as well as some napkins. As he’s walking back towards the living room, he sees Peter sitting up and smiles. “Hey, look who’s awake. Have a nice n-…” He stops once he sees Peter’s face, his heart dropping at the tears rolling down the younger man’s cheeks as he stares at the TV with a bank look. “Peter?”

Peter seems to snap out of whatever trance he was in, blinking a few times before looking at Tony. “Oh. Hey.” He says, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes, sniffling a little. “When did the pizza get here?” He asks, trying to pretend like none of that ever happened.

“Um… A few minutes ago. Peter, you okay? Did something happen?” He asks, walking over and sitting next to Peter, setting the drinks and napkins on the coffee table.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just a… a bad dream, I guess. Don’t worry about it.” Peter says, looking down at his hands as he picks at his fingernails.

Tony frowns a little and reaches over to take one of Peter’s hands, squeezing gently. “Pete, hey. You don’t seem fine. I mean, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. I understand. But you don’t have to say you’re fine if you’re not.” He says, keeping his voice soft. His heart breaks a little as Peter starts crying again and he carefully pulls the younger man into his arms, tucking his head under his chin. He rocks them slowly as he hushes him, rubbing his back in slow circles. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’ve got you.” He says, moving Peter fully onto his lap and letting him curl up there. After almost ten minutes of Tony rocking them and whispering soothing words, Peter starts to calm down, moving his head to rest on Tony’s shoulder. “Feeling any better?”

Peter hesitates for a moment before nodding his head slowly. “A little, yeah. Sorry. Been a while since they’ve… been that bad.” He says, one hand gripping tightly onto Tony’s shirt.

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. You had a bad dream. It happens. Do you want to talk about? Or would you rather watch some shitty movie and eat way too much pizza?” Tony asks, trying to get a smile out of him.

Peter smiles and looks up at Tony, his eyes red and puffy from crying. “Movie and pizza, please.” He says, moving to get off of Tony’s lap and squeaking a little when he’s pulled right back.

“Nu uh. You, sir, are staying right here. That okay?” He asks, kissing Peter’s cheek and grinning when Peter’s cheeks flush pink.

“Yeah. That’s fine with me.” He says, happily snuggling back into Tony’s chest. “Thank you. For helping me with that.” He says, taking the slice of pizza Tony offers him.

“Don’t need to thank me, either. But you’re welcome. And I will happily help you again if you want. Like I said, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s perfectly fine but you don’t have to say you’re okay if you’re not.” Tony says, kissing Peter’s head as he picks up a slice of pizza for himself. They start watching whatever Netflix had suggested after their last movie, neither paying much attention to it anyway.

When the movie is about halfway through and the pizzas are mostly gone, Peter lifts his head, rubbing his eyes. _Why does crying always make me so tired?_ He thinks, looking up at Tony and giving him a soft smile when the man looks down at him. He feels his cheeks heating up as Tony leans down and presses a soft, barely there kiss to his lips before kissing his forehead. “You look tired, babe. And it _is_ a school night.” Tony says, not registering his use of the pet name as he reaches a hand up to brush some of Peter’s curls out of his face. “I think you should probably head to bed.” He says, feeling Peter tense almost immediately.

“Yeah, I… I know I probably should.” Peter says, biting his lip as he thinks for a few moments. “Hey, Tony? Could… could I sleep in your room? With you? We don’t have to, like, do anything. I just… I don’t…”

“You don’t want to be alone.” Tony says, nodding as he rubs Peter’s back. “I get it, Pete. You can stay in my room. That’s more than okay with me. But we won’t be doing anything for two reasons. One, it’s a school night and it’s already a little late. And two, this just started. I’d like for us to go kind of slow with this.” He says, smiling softly as Peter relaxes in his arms. “Alright. Let’s go get ready for bed. If you still want to change in the other bedroom, you can. And, yes, before you ask, you can borrow some clothes to sleep in. Or you can sleep in what you’re already wearing. Up to you.” He stands up with Peter in his arms, laughing a little at the rather adorable squeak of surprise, and carries Peter towards his bedroom.

“I’ll just sleep in this.” Peter says, his head resting on Tony’s shoulder as he’s carried. Once in the room, Tony sets Peter down on his bed and grabs some sleep pants and a t-shirt. He heads into the bathroom to change, still a bit self-conscious about the scars on his chest from where the reactor was. When he comes back out, he smiles fondly at Peter all curled up under the sheets and walks over, crawling under them as well.

“Hey, there, little spider.” He says, letting out a small _oof_ as Peter practically tackles him and nuzzles his face into the crook of his neck. “Alright. So, that’s a yes to cuddling.” He teases, wrapping his arms tight around Peter. “Goodnight, Peter. Remember, I’m here if you need me. Just wake me up.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Peter says, his voice a bit muffled as he presses impossibly closer to the older man.

“Anytime, Pete. Now, try to get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.” Tony says, smirking at the muffled groan from the man in his arms. “I know, I know. But you have to keep your grades up. And skipping school to hang out with me may seem like a good idea, because it is. Doesn’t mean you should do it, though.” He says, stifling a yawn as Peter grumbles something unintelligible into his shoulder.

“Goodnight, Tony.” Peter says, sounding half asleep already. He just hopes he doesn’t have any more nightmares tonight, not having the energy to deal with another one. He ignores _that_ voice in his head again, feeling almost relieved when he drifts off to sleep. Tony is asleep seconds later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter three. If you have any suggestions for where this should go, feel free to message me or leave it in the comments. Or if you see any spelling mistakes, let me know. Or if you can figure out what is wrong with this chapter, let me know. Cuz I can't figure it out. It just feels off. Anyway, have a great day/night. And please be safe out there. Things are starting to get bad again so, please be safe and use common sense. Love you all and thank you for the support. ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it. If not, sorry. Again, please keep all the hate negativity out of the comments. If you don't like this ship, then just ignore it but there's really no need to be mean to people that like it. Anyway, I'll try to write the next chapter and get it out soon. Love you! ^-^


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